Shut Up and Fish
by MythGirl Writes
Summary: Fishing was supposed to be a quiet activity. Fishing with Gold was most certainly not quiet.


Gold was not Yellow's first choice as a fishing partner. He was not her second, third, fourth, or fifth choice. She knew him the least of the Johto dexholders, and thought that it was a joke when Silver and Crys suggested she ask him. He always rubbed her the wrong way whenever they saw each other. Now she knew it wasn't a joke.

It was an attempt to keep him out of their hair for a while.

But since Red was MIA again, Blue was visiting her parents, Green was taking care of his gym, Silver was training, and Crys was doing even more research, Gold was her only option. She'd seen him in battle before, and despite her qualms, he couldn't be too bad if Red liked him and Silver tolerated him. How bad could this be?

"Hey, Straw Hat Girl, there you are! I thought I was gonna spend forever wandering in that forest looking for ya."

Too early. It was too early for her to pass judgement. "Hi, Gold. I have a name."

He sat next to where she was already set up with an extra rod for him. It was still early in the day, and she could tell that he was somewhat surprised by the dew still on the grass. The closer they got to the jagged edge of the bank, the muddier and rockier it got, too. "Yeah, I know," he said, shifting so his sneakers didn't sink into the soft ground. Yet another advantage to wearing hardier boots. "This way is more fun."

Of course it was. Yellow shook it off, already priming her fishing rod. When she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he wasn't following suit, she did the same with the rod she brought for him. "Here," she said, pushing the rod into his hands and casting her own line. He didn't move for another minute, instead staring at the rod. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, I know what I'm doing. Just interested in the rods you use." He poked at the poké ball on the end and watched the line swing back and forth. Now that she knew that, the curiosity was clear on his face.

She couldn't help but grin at that. "They're cool, right? I wanted to make sure that the pokémon I catch aren't harmed, so I modified a couple rods to use the poké balls as lures instead of hooks."

He let out a low whistle and cast his line out. By the way he stared intently at the water, she could tell what the next thing out of his mouth would be. It was always the next question she got her first time fishing with someone. "So, how long until one of us gets a bite?"

"Who knows?" She shrugged and positioned her rod between a grouping of rocks. From her bag, she took out her sketchbook and pencil. "If you want to let your pokémon out, it's a pretty safe area so long as they stick close and don't cause any trouble. Dody and Kitty and the others usually go to find a clearing. They like playing and training with the wild pokémon."

"How do you know that?" A quick look over told her that Gold was entirely confused by her words. His eyebrows were all scrunched up under his explosive bangs.

"Oh. You don't know, do you?" Yellow was so used to her friends and the residents of Viridian City knowing about her powers that she almost forgot that they were never introduced to Gold. The tiniest of smiles lifted her lips. "See, I can read their thoughts and memories."

A beat passed before he started laughing much too loud for her liking, causing her to shift away. Fishing was meant to be a relatively quiet, relaxing activity. That's why she liked it so much. "Yeah, right! And let me guess, you have telekinetic powers, too?"

"Limited, yeah. I can also heal pokémon." Her attention should be almost wholly on her sketchbook now. This was when her drawing skills improved. Still, just to prove her point, she paused and set an extra poke ball from her bag beside her. Using a lot of her concentration, but less than she would have a year or two ago, she rolled it to his side without touching it.

So maybe she was a little smug at the stunned silence. She had the right to be; any silence here was good silence. All the noise was from nature: the rush of the water, rusting of the trees, call of the wild pokemon, the breeze-

"Whoa! That's so amazing!"

Yellow groaned in frustration as she started erasing the streak across her drawing caused by his sudden shout. Did he have no inside voice? She glanced at his rod with a frown, hoping in vain that he would have a bite so he would be too preoccupied to say anything else. Even though there was only a year age difference between them, she felt more like she was babysitting him than fishing with him. And in the time it took her to think that, he still hadn't stopped talking. At this rate, he'd scare all of the pokémon away before either of them could get a bite.

"-and just imagine what you could do with water balloons! I may need to take you on as my pranking protege!"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. All she wanted to do was have a nice couple of hours, maybe get to know Gold a little better. It had barely been half an hour and she was already exhausted. "Gold, do me a favor."

"What is it?"

She couldn't believe she was about to say this. She would never usually consider saying this. "Shut up and fish."

For one glorious moment, she believed that he did as she asked. That moment only lasted a handful of seconds. "Wow, Straw Hat Girl, who knew you had the guts to say that? I'm impressed!"

She opened her mouth to respond, but lucky for him, she didn't have the chance to become even more annoyed. Somehow, despite how loud he had been, she got a bite. That had to be her primary focus. She grabbed her rod and pulled at it, bringing up the magikarp that bit her rod. A moment's hesitation told her that this one wasn't fit for a catch, so she let it go without a fight. That way, she could reuse the poké ball as well.

"Does this lake have anything other than magikarp in it?" Gold asked, and she could tell it was more out of curiosity than boredom. Magikarp weren't any special sight, especially not in Kanto. Gold probably came into this hoping for more of a thrill.

"I once saw a seaking here." Pretty impressive for a small-ish lake, even if she couldn't catch it. That was back a few years prior when she was less experienced. If she found one now, she might be able to try without a battle like she liked to.

She didn't offer much more than that to try to retain some of the silence she craved. She was barely a few pencil strokes in her new drawing. If anything, she was never a big conversationalist. The peace and quiet was nice, a huge difference from when she was out with Red or Blue, who were always more rambunctious.

Gold left her alone for a minute or two before interrupting the silence again, shifting his position again and again, becoming increasingly more restless. No doubt he was getting mud all over his clothes. "Why don't you like me?"

"What?" Her hand froze above the paper as she whipped her head over to him. Her ponytail just narrowly missed smacking her in the face.

He stuck his rod in a cluster of rocks like she had before letting himself fall on his back into the grass. "It's okay, you can tell me. I have a thick skull, ya know? I'd rather know why than keep going like this."

For a moment, she stared at him incredulously. "I don't know what you're talking about. I like you."

He let out a dry chuckle and turned his head towards her. His lips were quirked up into a bittersweet smile, a serene look. "Doesn't seem like you want me here, at least. You've said next to nothing and you've been irritable this entire time. Kinda makes it seem like you don't like me."

That explained some things. "I'm sorry if that's how I came across." She hesitated for a second, choosing her words carefully. "We're obviously different people. I'm just not too used to fishing with a partner so different from me. And I didn't fully know what to expect, either, since we don't know each other too well. But I do like you."

For another minute, he said nothing. His face was turned up towards the sun, his eyes partially closed. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. I didn't even know you were older than me until Crys told me, remember?"

"Yeah, actually. I had to show you my age to prove it." She shook her head, remembering that day in Ilex Forest. "Wow, that was, what, three years ago?"

"Something like that. Never really got to see you in action there."

She shrugged, adding more to her sketch. Now that she knew what she was doing for sure, it came easier. "Mostly I try to keep all pokémon out of danger. I just helped wherever I was needed." Her tongue poked into her cheek, her concentration increasing. "You're pretty good with pokémon. You bonded quickly with ChuChu's child."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot Pibo is related to yours and Red's pikachus. I have a gift for taking care of eggs and newly hatched pokémon." He hummed under his breath, his fingers tapping against his stomach. "We're getting off topic, though. You sure you want to look at that boring old sketchbook instead of talking with me?"

Another few pencil streaks. "You tell me." She turned it around to face him, even though it was just a work in progress and under normal circumstances she _never_ shared her works in progress. These were not normal circumstances.

This sketch was of her and Gold fishing. Just a normal day, both of them relishing in the silence thus far. She wasn't too far into it, of course, and she had most of Gold completed and only some of her and the background done. She could mostly tell what the picture was of, but there was no mistake of the smiles on their faces. "Wow, Yellow. You're really good at that."

That was the most genuine thing she believed he'd said all morning. "Thanks," she said as she turned it back to her chest. With a second of hesitation, she flipped it closed. "This is what I do when I fish. I draw to remember the fun I had with whomever I came with. Sometimes it's just me, ChuChu, and the others." She shrugged and tucked her pencil into the side of her sketchbook. "Well, maybe it's a little more fun with someone who can actually verbally respond."

"Yeah, I'd assume so," Gold laughed. He got up in front of her and stuck out a hand. His grin was wide and mischievous, the way she always pictured it. "So, truce? I'll be a little more quiet if you talk a little more."

"Deal." She took his hand, only for him to pull her up to her feet. A bewildered look crossed her face. "Wait-"

Before she could react, he pulled her into the lake with him, her shrieking from the sudden cold of the water and him howling with laughter at her reaction. "Just something a little more fun!" he announced, letting go of her hand to splash her with some more water.

"Oh, it's on!"

* * *

**I've been waiting to write this forever, ever since I saw the music video for Maddie and Tae's song "Shut Up and Fish." If you haven't seen that, I highly recommend it.**

**Also, feel free to join this pokespe fanfic discord! **** discordapp dot com /invite /czfx8D5**


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